After asking a production supervisor to review several job descriptions for positions he supervises, he returns them an hour later with a note that they are all ok. You explain that you are concerned that new technology and changing work practices may require updates, but he replies “My people are great. They do what they're supposed to do and I trust them to make good decisions. If something needs to be changed, I tell them and they do it. We don't need to change the job descriptions. Nobody reads them anyway.” How will you reply?
> Describe the differences one may encounter when recruiting globally.
> Elyse took over as president of a home healthcare supply company when her father retired. Soon after, many other longtime employees also retired. Replacing the lost experience was difficult and the new employees just don't seem to be able to fill their s
> Explain the advantages and disadvantages of the external recruitment alternatives.
> Present the advantages and disadvantages of promote from within policies.
> What are some challenges to effective recruiting?
> Explain the importance of essential functions as they relate the Americans with Disabilities Act.
> Identify the advantages and disadvantages of the observation, structured questionnaire, and diary job analysis methods.
> Explain how you would do a job analysis for the position of “Successful HR Student” and create a job description using the elements in this chapter. Explain your choices of essential functions and job specifications.
> Describe the progressive discipline process as it would apply to an employee with a minor violation of workplace rules as opposed to a serious violation.
> Explain the potential advantages and disadvantages of having organizational policies that deal with workplace romance.
> What is employment-at-will? How does it affect employees? Employers?
> Discuss issues involved in using honesty tests to screen job applicants?
> This case concerns a casino employee placing a “Dilbert” cartoon on the company bulletin board, which management found offensive. The employee was fired for misconduct and denied unemployment benefits. The employee appealed to an administrative judge, cl
> What should be considered when developing a policy on employee use of social media?
> What should an organization know about employee records?
> What is the purpose of the FMLA and who does it cover?
> Explain how the two types of sexual harassment differ.
> Explain why an employee might file a claim of retaliation and why retaliation claims are on the rise.
> What is an adverse impact? How does it differ from adverse or disparate treatment?
> Select one of the cases concerning employment discrimination that seems to be most important to fairness in employment and explain your reasoning.
> Which of the HR functions seem to be most important and why?
> Explain ways that a talent management strategy improves an organization's ability to attract and keep talented employees.
> What role does HRM play in the strategic management process?
> This case allows students to study and discuss a variety of discipline issues. An accountant at an excavation contractor and his boss share a mutual gun collection hobby, often bringing guns to work. The accountant upsets an administrative assistant by b
> Explain what ethics are and how organizations and HRM can promote ethical behavior.
> What are the necessary ingredients for a successful employee involvement program?
> What is the purpose of a continuous improvement program? What role does HRM play in assisting continuing improvements?
> Explain the roles HRM plays in dealing with current employment challenges such as mergers, offshoring, the economy, and ethical issues.
> Explain which of the advances in management seem most and least important in the evolution of HRM.
> How is the role of HR demonstrated in each of the four management functions?
> How have globalization and changes in workforce composition contributed to the need for understand diversity and inclusion in our organizations?
> Describe the collective-bargaining process and how it differs for private-sector and public-sector employees.
> Explain the three pieces of legislation that have been most important in defining the rights of management and unions.
> “Social Security should serve as a foundation for employee retirement programs. Therefore, Congress should explore more extensive revisions to the program to ensure that the next generation of retirees will receive the benefit.” Do you agree or disagree
> The case focus describes how Abercrombie & Fitch recruited employees based on an image the company wanted to project and staffed their stores with sales people that were primarily white and athletic. The female employee who thought she was being hired fo
> When interviewed about his new business venture, a local entrepreneur told a reporter "I'll provide every benefit I'm required to by law, and the minimum amount of health insurance I can buy to stay legal. He went on to explain that "voluntary benefits l
> Employers in many other countries are required to provide generous paid leaves compared to the U.S. Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of requiring U.S. employer to provide a minimum amount of paid time off.
> During a class discussion on ethics, a classmate proclaims “U.S. executives earn every dollar of their pay. Very few people have the skills to effectively run a multi-million dollar global enterprise. Supply and demand should set salaries and if those sk
> Would you rather work for an organization where everyone knows what others are earning or an organization where this information is kept secret? Why? Would it make a difference if you suspected that you were making more than coworkers with similar positi
> Performance appraisal is more valid and reliable when many perspectives are included. Supervisors should evaluate their employees, and employees should be able to evaluate their supervisors. And customers should evaluate them all.” Explain the advantages
> It's a dog eat dog world out there" according to Jackson, president of Onleo as he defended their use of relative standards to evaluate employees. "If Onleo falls below 10% market share, we're finished. Why shouldn't our employees who are in the bottom 1
> Anne and Ed are disagreeing over the content of the employee manual of their new start-up. Anne wants to keep the content to a bare minimum or have no handbook at all because a lawyer friend of hers warned her that handbook are often misinterpreted and c
> Describe what a socialization program might look like if management desired employees who were innovative and individualistic.
> Untrained interviewers can make mistakes that are very costly to the organization.” Discuss errors in perception and selection that interviewers can make and how to avoid them.
> "All former employers will tell me anymore is the dates of employment. Period. Calling them is a waste of time.” Do you agree or disagree with this statement. Explain.
> The HR Director of a manufacturing company learns the hard way that doing the right thing can be complicated when she handles a sexual harassment complaint and ends up with at least one retaliation complaint and possibly two. 1. Explain the concept of re
> What do you think of realistic job previews? Would you be more likely to choose a position where recruiters emphasized only the positive aspects of the job?
> The only employer brand that matters is salary. If an employer pays a competitive or slightly higher salary with competitive benefits, they'll get the same applicants everyone else does.” Evaluate the statement from an opposing and agreement point of vie
> When proposing that your organization investigate flexible scheduling and other flexible workplace options, the CEO replies that she has no interest in “getting involved in that type of chaotic workplace.” She went on to cite Yahoo and Best Buy as exampl
> An employee is overheard telling a new worker, “Don’t rush back from lunch. You’ll make us look bad. Everyone takes an extra fifteen to thirty minutes. Every once in a while we get warned if the supervisor is in a bad mood, but he never does anything abo
> The social media policy in your handbook states “Employees are not to use social media during work hours and should make references the company online or on social media sites .” Evaluate the effectiveness of the policy. In what ways can it help or hurt
> A local employer confides to you that she secretly does internet searches of applicants before she calls them in for interviews. She tells you that she has a very established clientele and needs to make sure her new employees "fit in". She's particularly
> Affirmative action does not work. When you’re hired under an affirmative action program, you’re automatically labeled as such and are rarely recognized for the value that you can bring to an organization.” Develop arguments for and against this statement
> Here are the answers to the questions in the chapter opener. Do you agree with them? Explain why you agree or disagree.
> You have been offered two positions in HRM. One is a generalist position in a smaller business, and one is a recruiting position in a large corporation. Explain which of the two jobs you would prefer and why. Which will provide a better foundation for an
> 1. How are recruiting, job design and organizational strategy at Frito-Lay linked? How does one influence the other? 2. If you were an RSR at Frito-Lay, which of the changes would you find most beneficial? Least? How would the changes affect your motivat
> Juliet is the owner of a design firm that survived the recession, but just barely. Her firm has grown 25% each of the last 2 years, but she is wary of hiring any full-time employees. “Firing half of my staff was the most stressful thing I've ever done” s
> Diversity and inclusion is nothing new. Thousands of immigrants came to the United States in the early 1900s and they integrated into the workplace just fine. Pay them a fair wage and treat them equally. That's all workers want.” Evaluate this philosophy
> Aiden, founder of a growing company that creates software to help small businesses manage their money sees no reason to create a mission statement or undergo a strategic planning process. He states "It's my company. The mission is whatever I say it is. W
> After reviewing the chapter opener describing the efforts of Principal Financial Group to help employees manage their careers, explain which of the company’s initiatives you feel is the most valuable and why. Suggest additional career development activit
> Review the elements of Samsung's Global Services Group and Regional Specialists program in chapter in chapter five and on the Samsung website. Explain the benefits to Samsung and to the participants. Which program do you feel would offer the greatest adv
> In response to state budget problems, a bill has been introduced in your state legislature that eliminates a number of public-sector union activities, including the dues check-off and maintenance-of-membership clauses with the intent of reducing union me
> A colleague makes the suggestion that the company should invest in a new safety training program that consists of online videos, tutorials, and quizzes. Another colleague disagrees, stating "We developed 'Safety is No Accident' training program specifica
> After a local workplace was the site of a brutal employee attack on a supervisor, the V.P of HR told local media, "This was completely unexpected. Nobody saw this coming. There were no obvious signs of trouble before the employee snapped and attacked the
> Review the chapter opener about "industrial athletes" on page 285. Prepare a list of reasons that employers should take responsibility (and the expense) for making sure that employees whose jobs require physical activity keep fit. Also prepare a list of
> Rob Dow has problems recruiting and retaining good employees at his home services company called Outdoor Solutions. When he asks an acquaintance at a local staffing company for tips on finding good workers, she discovers that it isn't just a recruiting p
> Grower's Choice is a regional food store chain that plans rapid growth and was recently advised to begin a strategic planning process to guide HR policies and practices and prepare for growth. Armed with a new mission statement and list of core values, s
> The Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) has faced low morale and high turnover of its screeners. Reasons cited for the problems include low pay, discrimination, and fear of retaliation for complaining. TSA employees voted to allow union representa
> A lengthy labor dispute between West Coast dockworkers and the shipping companies created problems when a work slow-down created a backlog of merchandise and produce waiting to be shipped and dozens of ships floating off the west coast waiting to be unlo
> Exactitude Manufacturing implemented a new compensation system a year ago and it hasn’t been very well received by their employees. The employees are understandably frustrated and have taken to social media to express their frustration in creative ways.
> OSHA inspectors see their role as contributing to employee safety, not just as regulations and bureaucratic red tape. Death and injury are the two most serious consequences to companies and employees who may feel time and money pressure to cut corners, t
> After ignoring several signs that an employee is under stress, a supervisor is faced with handling an outburst from the troubled employee that may qualify for one of several serious disciplinary actions. He heads to HR for advice on how to handle the beh
> Genentech, a California pharmaceutical company, and Zappos, an online shoe retailer, are firms with employee retention strategies that result in low turnover rates. Employee benefits are a key component of both organizations’ HR strategy. 1. Describe the
> Elena, an HR Director at a casino, meets with Sienna, an employee with family and financial problems. Sienna wants a raise, which Elena can't accommodate. Elena suggests ways the casino's benefits offerings could help Sienna, who is tough to convince. 1.
> The hospitality industry has recently been the focus of the DOL due to widespread pay violations. Housekeepers are at the highest risk of not receiving fair pay for the hours worked. Common unethical employer practices are outlined and students are asked
> Shannon Keller spent years developing a compensation system aligned with Exactitude's strategic goals of high quality manufacturing. External influences on compensation from the chapter have been considered. As with most workplace changes, employees have
> Jelly Belly is a family-owned company that found during a merger that they had not only one ineffective performance appraisal process, they had two. Revising the process involved bringing in an HRIS provider to create an effective, easy-to-use, web-based
> The U.S. Navy may not be the first employer that comes to mind when you think of employers that are making efforts to help employees with work/life balance issues. However, the Navy has made improvements to maternity benefits, parental leave, and flexibl
> A young HR Generalist is frustrated when a variety of common problems in the performance appraisal process combine to make her job difficult. Students are asked to diagnose the problems and suggest ways to improve the process. 1. What is missing in the
> Nearly 40 percent of first-time leaders fail in their position. When you look at the number of leaders Walmart needs to sustain their global growth, it's important to reduce that number and increase the odds of employees succeeding in their new positions
> An HR director is confused when Western States, the mortgage company she works for fails to gain a place on the local "Best Employers" list. Students are asked to help her utilize career development concepts to improve employee opinions about the opportu
> Supervisors identified as having potential at Whirlpool are invited to participate in a unique employee development program that involves their managers too. 1. Discuss how each of the levels in Kirkpatrick's model could be applied to the Leading People
> When confronted with complaints about the quality of care, The Director of Nursing and HR Director at Kindness House Hospice look for ways to reduce their excessively high employee turnover as a way to reduce the staffing shortage they blame for the prob
> Identify how each of the five core job characteristics of job enrichment could be used to improve your job or a job of your choice.
> Explain human resource planning and explain why it is important to organizations.
> Summarize the ways unions differ globally.
> What is the process for establishing a union as the legal collective bargaining representative for employees?
> What must an organization do differently with respect to health and safety when operating in another country?
> List sources of stress in the workplace.
> Outline ways employers can create safer workplaces.
> How do benefits for employees in other developed countries compare to employees in the U.S.?
> Why is PTO such a popular option over sick leave?
> Explain how salaries are determined for workers with assignments in other countries.
> It turns out that being a successful "Beauty Advisor," also called cosmetic associates, takes different skills than other types of sales positions. Turnover for the Beauty Advisor position at Bon-Ton stores was much higher than other sales positions alth
> Summarize the ways the Fair Labor Standard Act regulates compensation.
> Explain the difference between intrinsic and extrinsic rewards and explain how they relate to a job you have held.
> How does the global nature of business affect performance management systems?
> What are some major factors that distort performance appraisals?
> Rank the four career development stages in order of increasing employer responsibility and involvement. Explain your choices.
> How does the ADDIE model of training design connect training with strategy?
